This invention relates generally to the combination of an improved bull float, hand trowel, and each capable of usage in conjunction with a removable type groover, thereby providing all of the tools in one package necessary for attaining a finishing of freshly poured concrete.
Numerous styles of concrete floats and other accessories for use in finishing concrete have been available upon the market for some time. In many instances these tools are useful for accomplishing their intended results, but lacking certain refinements that would make them highly efficient in usage for affording frequent consistency in the high quality finishing needed for freshly poured concrete.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,210, to Oehlerking, discloses one such concrete finishing tool, wherein the float member has a handle attached to it, and also provides a removable type accessory for use in furnishing a groove upon the finished concrete surface. While the shown concrete float is apparently effective for its intended purpose, there are a number of drawbacks in its construction that are intended to be remedied by the style of bull float, trowel, and connectable groover present in this current development. For example, the effective usage of the groover accessory of Oehlerking is too elongated in configuration, and therefore, does present some problems in maintaining uniformity in the groove formed over the length of the poured concrete slab. In addition, accumulations of concrete either forwardly or aft of the float member of Oehlerking cannot be effectively moved or shifted to other locations of the forming slab since no structured means are provided for acting as a means for achieving an equilization in the distribution of the poured concrete, and to provide uniformity for the concrete surface. These comments do not report deficiencies of this prior art device, but rather the current invention significantly adds components in its construction so as to provide further utility in its intended functionality to act as a combination tool to furnish complete and uniform finishing to the poured concrete surface.
The U.S. Pat. No. 867,819, to Grundmann, discloses a cement worker's tool, and which may function essentially as a groover, but as can be seen, the groover component is permanently affixed, or integrally formed, in association with the tool plate. This obviously minimizes if not eliminates the use of this tool as a hand trowel for finishing of the poured concrete surface.
A variety of other types of concrete or cement working tools are also shown in the prior art, with the patent to Tullis, U.S. Pat. No. 1,952,398, disclosing a road tool in the nature of a box channel having an elongated handle connected therewith. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,264,668, to Lasker, shows another type of concrete tool, apparently having an elongated handle attached thereto, but this particular tool is primarily used for straightening out of the mesh that is usually provided in concrete structures for reinforcement purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 3,162,881, to Negwer, discloses another form of an adjustable bull float. In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,090,984, to Dunnigan there is disclosed a type of float that is for use essentially for finishing plaster applied to the overhead, as upon the ceiling or along the upper edges of the wall. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,082,460, to Haivala, discloses a concrete working tool, again in the nature of a channel member, having a rather elongated handle fixedly attached thereto. Additionally, the U.S. Pat. No. 1,929,660, to Tullis, discloses another type of tool for use upon road work, mainly being fabricated from a folded sheet metal to function in the nature of a straight edge.
In addition to the Grundmann cement worker's tool, as previously analyzed, a variety of other hand trowel type of instrumentalities have been designed in the prior art. For example, the additional patent to Grundmann, U.S. Pat. No. 1,295,735, discloses another form of a concrete finishing tool having a groover integrally molded upon the tool's body portion. In addition, the U.S. Pat. No. 1,273,060, to Hoff, discloses a concrete edging and marking tool that includes in combination various structural means for adding to the thickness and size in addition to location of the groover formed upon the tool's bottom surface. The Meyers trowel, in U.S. Pat. No. 761,242, discloses a groover or edging means also providing for use in conjunction with the trowel's structure. Various other patents relating to jointing type tools or scrapers are shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 1,664,701, to O'Neal and the U.S. Pat. No. 1,061,085 to Kolson. In addition, the U.S. Pat. No. 853,164, to Courtney, discloses a masonry tool in the nature of a trowel, having what is in the nature of an integral head apparently for acting as a mortar joint forming member.
Various other tools for use in finishing concrete are shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 872,903, to Connelly, which discloses an adjustable type of means for holding a handle to the shown float. The patent to Glasscock, U.S. Pat. No. 988,457, disclosed a float, having an integral groover connected to its lower surface, and having an elongated handle attached therewith. The patent to Pfister, U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,220, discloses a combination leveling and grade checking tool and which may be used for the combined operations of raking, leveling, and settling grade.
The other patents are of interest, one is the U.S. Pat. No. 1,347,938, to Connelly, which discloses a hand tool for use in edging concrete. In addition, the patent to Francis, U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,268, discloses a free hand jointer device, wherein a handle is adjustably connected to the upper surface of the float, and a grooving device may be bolted onto the surface of the plate of the float. It is to be noted that the plate member of the shown Francis float is quite shallow in dimensions, and is different from the construction of that detailed in this current invention.
In view of the foregoing, it is the principal object of this invention to provide a combination bull float, trowel, and groover connectable therewith, and wherein all of these elements may be used as hand tools, or in conjunction with an elongated handle, with various components being interchangeable with other of the instrumentalities above listed, so as to provide means for completely finishing of a concrete surface, in all of its construction aspects, through the usage of the combination of this invention.
Another object of this invention is to provide a bull float having an elongated handle adjustably connectable therewith, wherein the handle may be adjusted at an angle of inclination with respect to the float, so as to provide for finishing either at close range or at some distance from the worker, but in addition, said handle may be shifted longitudinally of the bull float so as to provide finishing around rather confined locations.
Another object of this invention is to provide a cast groover that may be secured directly with the bull float anywhere along its length, but yet be removable therefrom, and at the same and when removed can be reapplied to a hand trowel, or simply have an elongated handle connectable therewith, so as to allow for grooving of the finished concrete through a variety of methods.
Another object of this invention is to provide a bull float that incorporates various integrally formed front and back walls that extend upwardly for some heighth, and therein have utility for moving and shifting accumulations of concrete as it is being distributed for leveling and blending into a poured surface.
A further object of this invention is to provide a bull float having rounded, pre-broken-in working surfaces that keep their shape even after heavy usage because of its inherent design advantages attained through the uniform casting of the bull float during its manufacture.
A further object of this invention is to provide a bull float having at least one upstanding front and back wall, or screen walls, which may be used for pushing and pulling of the concrete being spread, and which walls, in addition to a pair of upstanding members proximate the midportion of the float and which function for the location for connection of the handle, also act as means for retention of extra load bearing material, such as weights, that may be applied to the float to enhance its effectiveness during concrete finishing work.
Another object of this invention is to provide a unique groover that can be located anywhere along the length of the bull float, being stably supported by means of upstanding front and back walls.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a bull float having upstanding walls that may support a plurality of groovers along its length.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a groover that may be used in conjunction with a bull float, and be readily removed therefrom, and can also be attached to a uniquely designed hand trowel where hand finishing and grooving is required to complete the concrete work.
Another object of this invention is to provide an adjustable handle for use in conjunction with a bull float, or independently with a groover, and which handle can be adjusted into various angular directions, and which further may be of telescoping design, or threadily connected together, so that the lengthy handle can be dismantled for storage, or additional length sections added, so as to extend the distance of use of the bull float, or groover, during finishing work.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a combination of tools that complement each other in their usage.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a combination of tools that may be easily assembled and fabricated as cast components, requiring very few mechanical adjustments in their assembling for ready usage.
These and other objects will become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon reviewing the summary of this invention, and upon undertaking a study of its preferred embodiment in view of the drawings.